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LUNC  10M-AP  40 


Little  Gateways  to   Science 


BY  EDITH  M.  PATCH 


VOLUME  I.      HEXAPOD  STORIES 

Twelve  stories  about  the  six-footed  creatures,  the  fascinat- 
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trated by  Robert  J.  Sim.  Library  Edition,  bound  in  light- 
blue  silk  cloth.   $1.25 


VOLUME  II.      BIRD  STORIES 

A  book  of  bird  Biographies  which  will  be  loved  by  all 
who  love  birds  both  for  the  sweetness  and  strength  of  the 
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sketches  of  real  birds  as  can  only  be  drawn  by  an  artist 
who  is  also  a  naturalist.  Illustrated  by  Robert  J.  Sim.  Li- 
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» 


THE  ATLANTIC  MONTHLY  PRESS 
BOSTON 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/zodiactownrhymesturn 


Amos  and  Ann 

And  the  Journeying  Alan 


m 


"TT/ie  Ttfiymes  of  jltnos 
and  Jinn 

By  NANCY  BYRD  TURNER 

Illustrated  by  WINIFRED  BROMHALL 


Copyright,  1 92 1,  by 

NANCY  BYRD  TURNER 


The  author  makes  grateful  acknowledgment  of  permission  to  reprint  in  this  book  verses 
that  have  appeared  in  The  Youth's  Companion.  St.  Nicholas,  and  other  periodicals. 


To  J&y  Father 


-3 


THE  CONTENTS 


ZODIAC  TOWN 

1 

JANUARY 

7 

FEBRUARY 

17 

MARCH 

27 

APRIL 

37 

MAY 

47 

JUNE 

57 

JULY 

69 

AUGUST 

79 

SEPTEMBER 

91 

OCTOBER 

101 

NOVEMBER 

111 

DECEMBER 

119 

THE  ILLUSTRATIONS 

They  Went  to  the  January  house    ....  9 

They  Went  to  the  February  place  .              .              .              .  19 

The  March  house,  strangely,  was  built  in  a  tree     .              .  29 

The  April  house  Was  near  a  pond               .              .              .  39 

And  May  herself,  with  a  dimple  and  curl               .              .  49 

The  June  house  Was  n't  a  house  at  all       .              .              .  59 

The  July  house  Was  an  old,   old  house, 

With  an  old,  old  man  inside  71 

Oh,  such  a  funny  August  house  —  //  really  was  like  a  zoo  81 

Very  familiar  September  seemed  ....  93 

It  was  a  queer  October  place          .              .              .              .  1 03 

The  next  house  stood  just  back  from  the  street       .              .  113 

The  house  of  December  Was  all  aglow       .              .              .  121 


ZODIAC  TOWN 

AMOS  and  Ann  had  a  poem  to  learn, 
A  poem  to  learn  one  day  ; 
But  alas !  they  sighed,  and  alack !  they  cried, 
'T  were  better  to  go  and  play. 
Ann  was  sure  't  was  a  waste  of  time 
To  bother  a  child  with  jingling  rhyme. 
Amos  said,  "  What 's  the  sense  in  rhythm  — 
Feet  and  lines?  "  He  had  finished  with  'em ! 

They  peered  at  the  poem  with  scowly  faces, 
And  yawned  and  stumbled  and  lost  their  places. 
Then  —  a  breeze  romped  by,  and  a  bluebird  sang, 
And  they  shut  the  book  with  a  snap  and  a  bang ; 
Shut  the  book  and  were  off  and  away, 
Away  on  flying  feet ;  — 
Never  did  squirrels  move  more  light, 
Or  rabbits  run  more  fleet ! 

Over  a  wall  and  down  a  lane 

And  through  a  field  they  ran ; 

And  "  Where  shall  we  go?  "  said  Amos.   "  Oh, 

And  where  shall  we  stop?  "  cried  Ann. 

Then  all  at  once,  round  the  curve  of  a  hill, 

They  pulled  up  panting  and  stood  stock-still ; 


ZODIAC  TOWN 


For  there,  by  the  edge  of  a  ripplety  brook, 

In  a  deep  little,  steep  little  place, 

Sat  a  long-legged  youth,  with  a  staff  and  a  book 

And  a  quaint,  very  quizzical  face. 

His  cap  and  his  trousers  were  dusty  green 

And  his  jacket  waft  rusty  brown, 

And  he  whittled  away  on  sweet  white  woqd, 

With  shavings  showering  down. 

He  whittled  aw^(y  'twixt  a  laugh  and  a  tune, 

With  fingers  asf  light  as  thistles. 

And  what  are  you  making?     asked  Amos  and  Ann. 


He  said,  "  I  am  making  whistles." 

He  finished  one  with  a  notch  and  a  slit, 

And  threw  back  his  head  and  blew  on  if. 


The  whistle  sang  like  a  bird  when  he  blew, 
Then  he  twinkled  and  put  it  down. 
"  And  where  are  you  going,"  he  said,  "  you  two  ? 
Are  you  going  to  Zodiac  Town?  "      I 


Each  of  them  shook  a  doubtful  head 
( For  truly  they  did  n't  know) .    / 

"  But  make  us  a  whistle  like  yours,"  they  said, 
"  And  anywhere  we  will  go  ! 


ZODIAC  TOWN 

"  I  11  make  you  a  whistle  apiece,"  quoth  he, 
"  And  if  you  like,  you  may  follow  me ; 
Zodiac  Town 's  in  the  land  of  Time, 
And  I  go  by  the  road  of  Rhyme." 

Ann  looked  at  Amos  and  Amos  at  Ann ; 

They  blinked  with  sheer  surprise  ; 

And  then  they  looked  at  the  long-legged  man, 

Who  twinkled  back  with  his  eyes. 

They  said  (and  their  voices  were  meek  and  low) , 

"  We  ran  away  from  a  rhyme,  you  know." 


"  You  did  ?  "  cried  the  fellow  in  green  and  brown. 

Then  it 's  unmistakably  plain,  oho, 
That  you  're  due  in  Zodiac  Town  !  " 


He  took  up  his  book  and  shouldered  his  staff, 
And  turned  to  Amcte  and  Ann. 
"  Call  me  J.  M.,"  he  said  with  a  laugh. 
"  That  stands  for  Journeying  Man. 
I  '11  make  you  some  whistles  along  the  way, 
While  you  are  remembering  rhymes  to  say  ; 


For  more  than  onceTrTthe  land  of  Time 
You  will  have  to  speak  in  rhyrne." 

"  Our  names,"  said  the  children,  "  are  Amos  and  Ann  : 
And  poetry  is  rather  hard  for  us, 
But  we  '11  do  the  best  we  can." 


4  ZODIAC  TOWN 

Then  they  went  away  with  the  young-faced  man, 

Joyfully  up  and  down, 

Talking  in  rhyme  by  hill  and  lea, 

Gayly  in  rhyme  —  for  that,  said  he. 

Was  the  tongue  of  Zodiac  Town. 

To  Zodiac  after  a  while  they  came  — 

The  twistiest,  mistiest  town, 

With  odd  little  collopy,  scallopy  streets 

Meandering  up  and  down. 

The  home  of  the  years  and  the  hours  was  there, 

Of  the  minutes,  the  months,  and  the  days  — 

Houses  with  windows  that  winked  and  smiled, 

And  doors  with  sociable  ways  ; 

And  leaves  and  apples  and  chestnuts  brown 

Came  pattering  down,  came  clattering  down, 

And  stairways  wound  to  the  top  of  a  hill 

That  a  person  could  climb  if  he  had  the  will  — 

That  a  person  could  climb,  then  start  at  the  top, 

And  bumpeting  down  and  thumpeting  down, 

Go  zip !  to  the  bottom  with  never  a  stop. 

"  Whoopee !  "  cried  Amos  —  and  off  and  away, 

Quick  with  a  kick,  like  a  clown, 

He  ran  to  the  top  of  the  highest  stair, 

Ann  at  his  heels  —  And  zip  !  the  pair 

Came  bumpeting  down  and  thumpeting  down. 

Then,  "  Come,  you  two,  "  said  the  Journeying  Man , 


ZODIAC  TOWN 

"  We  have  twelve  calls  to-  pay. 

We  '11  visit  the  months  this  time,  if  we  can. 

Now  listen  to  me  :  at  every  house 

Many  clocks  will  be  ticking  away : 

Grandfather  clocks  and  cuckoo  clocks 

And  moon-faced  clocks  on  shelves, 

Clocks  with  alarms  and  eight-day  clocks, 

All  talking  low  to  themselves ; 

Little  gilt  clocks  and  clocks  with  chimes, 

And  all  of  them  keeping  different  times. 

And  any  minute  of  any  hour 

(You  never  did  see  their  like), 

Evening  or  morning,  with  never  a  warning, 

One  of  the  lot  will  strike. 

And  you  may  be  talking  your  everyday  talk, 

But  the  instant  the  hour  shall  chime, 

Quick  as  a  flash  you  must  stop,  and  dash 

Right  into  a  rollicking  rhyme  !  " 

"  What  kind  of  a  rhyme?  "  gasped  Amos  and  Ann. 
"  What  kind  of  a  rhyme,  J.  M.  ?  "  . 

"  Any  kind  at  all,"  said  the  Journeying  Man, 

As  he  twinkled  his  eyes  at  them. 

"  But  it  must  begin  with  the  very  two  sounds, 

(Or  three  or  four,  if  you  like,) 

The  last  few  sounds  that  were  on  your  tongue 

When  the  clock,  began  to  stride!  " 


JANUARY 


/ 

JANUARY 


Aquarius 

They  went  to  the  January  house, 

A  house  made  all  of  snou), 

With  windows  of  ice,  and  chandeliers 

Of  icicles  all  in  a  row. 

The  trim  young  master  was  dressed  in  fur 

And  did  n't  seem  cold  at  all  — 

A  red-cheeked,  rollicking,  f rollicking  chap, 

Who  offered  each  caller  an  ermine  wrap. 

And  let  them  skate  in  his  hall. 


They  went  to  the  January  house 


ZODIAC  TOWN  11 

YY/HILE  they  were  skating  round  the  hall,  Amos's 
feet  flew  from  under  him  and  he  sat  down  hard 
on  the  ice. 

"  Did  you  break  anything  ?"  asked  the  January  boy. 
"  I  hope  not,  indeed,"  he  added  earnestly,  "  because 
so  many  things  are  broken  here." 

"What  kind  of  things?"  Amos  wanted  to  know. 

"  Mainly  resolutions,"  answered  January  with  a 
wry  face.  And  then  he  further  said:  "So  many 
of  them  get  broken  that  sometimes  I  think  I'll  move 
into  another  house." 

"  But  then,"  put  in  little  Ann,  "we  shouldn't  have 
any  New  Year.  And  oh,  how  we'd  miss  New 
Year  —  " 

A  square-faced  clock  on  the  hall-landing  struck 
one  just  as  Ann  said  she'd  miss  New  Year. 

"Oh!"  said  Ann  with  a  gasp.  "Now  I've  got 
to  say  a  rhyme  beginning  —  '  miss  New  Year.' 
What  shall  I  say  ? 

"  Miss  New  Year,  miss  New  Year  —  "  Then  all  at 
once,  to  her  intense  surprise,  she  found  herself  reciting  : 


12  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"  Miss  New  Year  dressed  herself  in  white, 

With  crystal  buttons  shining, 
A  spangled  scarf,  all  lacy-light 

About  her  shoulders  twining  ; 
A  bunch  of  pearly  mistletoe, 

A  twig  of  ruddy  holly, 
She  tucked  among  her  curls,  and  oh, 

She  was  so  sweet  and  jolly  ! 

"  She  tapped  upon  my  window-pane 

And  waked  me,  bright  and  early. 
'  Come,  come,'  she  cried,  '  the  sun  s  outside, 

The  winds  are  gay  and  whirly ! 
'Neath  winter  frost  and  summer  sky, 

In  spring  or  autumn  weather, 
Come  out,  dear  child,  and  you  and  I 

Will  be  good  chums  together  ! ' ' 

J.  M.  was  the  next  one  to  get  caught.  January 
had  just  asked  the  three  to  stay  to  lunch. 

"  Wish  we  could,"  said  the  Journeying  Man,  "  but 
in  spite  of  all  these  clocks  there  is  no  time.  I  can 
smell  your  stew  cooking,  January — ,such  stew!" 

A  clock  struck  eight  just  as  the  Journeying 
Man  said  "such  stew."  Without  hesitation  he 
went  on:  — 


ZODIAC  TOWN  13 

Such  stupid  days  ! '  said  Willie  Green 
With  long  and  doleful  face. 
'  Suppose  to-night  the  whirling  globe 
Should  drop  us  into  space  : 
Hooray  !  I  'd  ride  the  moon  astride, 
And,  if  a  cloud  sailed  up, 
Pretend  it  was  a  feather-bed, 
And  dive  right  in,  kerplup ! ' 

'  What  if  the  moon  went  in  eclipse  ?  ' 
Said  little  Johnny  Brown  ; 
'  Or  if  the  clouds  turned  into  rain 
And  sent  you  drizzling  down  ? 
Or  if  a  thunder-bolt  went  off 
And  knocked  you  rather  flat  ? ' 

Now  that  s  the  truth,'  said  Willie  Green, 
'  I  had  n't  thought  of  that ! ' 

"  But,  '  Earth  s  so  poky,'  still  he  mused  ; 
'  It  must  be  finer  far 
To  play  /  Spy  across  the  sky, 
And  skip  from  star  to  star.' 

Stars  fall,  sometimes,'  quoth  Johnny  Brown, 
'To  where,  nobody  knows.' 

Oh,  dearie  me !  '  cried  Willie  Green, 
'  I  only  said  Suppose  !  ' 


14  ZODIAC  TOWN 

Amos  had  a  question  to  ask  as  the  travelers  turned 
to  leave  the  January  house. 

"Don't  you  keep  any  pets?"  he  said. 

January  grinned.  "  It  would  have  to  be  a  cold 
kind  of  pet,"  he  replied.  "  And  I  don't  like  seals 
and  walruses.  The  very  animal  that  I  want  I 
can't  have :  the  alligator  has  always  been  my 
favorite.'' 

'The  alligator?"  echoed  Amos  and  Ann. 

"Yes,"  said  January,  firmly.     "Always  the  al  —  " 

But  a  little  nickel  clock  caught  him  just  there,  so 
he  remarked  instead :  — 

"  Always  the  alphabet  to  me 
Is  like  a  happy  family. 
They  work  in  groups,  they  work  in  pairs, 
But  each  one  has  his  little  airs  : 
R  runs  and  romps,  and  so  does  S, 
And  Z  is  full  of  foolishness  ; 
H  always  smiles,  and  A  is  jolly  ; 
G  's  somehow  sort  of  melancholy. 
Q  sticks  his  tongue  into  his  cheek 
And  always  waits  for  U  to  speak ; 
D  s  fat  and  lazy  ;  so  is  C  ; 
And  0  makes  funny  mouths  at  me. 


ZODIAC  TOWN  15 

Among  the  pleasant  alphabet 

It  s  hard  to  pick  and  choose  —  and  yet, 

When  all  is  said,  I  can't  deny 

(You  '11  understand),  my  choice  is  I !  " 


FEBRUARY 


// 

FEBRUARY 


They  went  to  the  February  place . 

'  T  was  fashioned,  with  curious  art. 

Of  colored  sugar  and  paper  lace, 

With  a  front  door  shaped  life  a  heart. 

A  trim  little,  slim  little  maid  within 

Was  rolling  out  cookies  crisp  and  thin ; 

She  blew  them  a  \iss  through  the  window  wide, 

And  bade  them  step  inside. 


They  went  io  the  February  place 


ZODIAC  TOWN  21 

"THE  little  valentine  girl  in  the  February  house  was 
very  sociable;  but  she  talked  so  much,  and  there 
were  so  many  clocks  striking  all  around,  that  she  was 
always  getting  side-tracked  into  a  rhyme. 

For  example,  she  was  just  about  to  describe  a  jolly 
party  she  went  to  one  day  last  year,  when  a  clock 
struck  six,  and  she  was  obliged  to  say,  instead:  — 

"  One  day  last  year,  with  hems  and  haws  and  sidelong  steps 
and  nervous  caws,  the  crows  came  mincing  forth  to  mail  gay 
valentines,  you  know.  The  post  box  was  a  hollow  tree.  They 
did  not  know,  unluckily,  that  squirrels  had  gnawed  the  floor 
away,  and  owls  moved  in  below. 

'  The  crows  went  flapping  off  with  glee.  They  said,  'Our 
woodland  friends  will  see  that,  though  we  dress  so  solemnly, 
we  're  sociable  at  heart.' 

"  The  valentines  came  hurrying  down,  came  scurrying  down, 
came  flurrying  down,  and  waked  the  owls,  all  fast  asleep,  and 
gave  them  quite  a  start. 

'  What 's  this,  my  dear,  amiss,  my  dear?  '  cried  Father  Owl. 
Oh,  bliss,  my  dear,'  said  Mrs.  Owl.  '  A  shower  of  mail  for 
us.    How  very  fine  ! ' 

"  The  daughter  owls  were  full  of  joy,  and  quick  the  little 
owlet  boy  ruffed  up  his  feathers  roguishly  and  seized  a  val- 
entine. 

"  Excitement  reigned  among  those  owls  ;  but,  being  such  noc- 
turnal fowls,  they  could  not  read  the  valentines  at  all  in  broad 


22  ZODIAC  TOWN 

daylight.  They  blinked  a  bit  and  winked  a  bit,  but  found  them 
not  distinct  a  bit :  then  did  not  go  to  bed  again,  but  waited  for 
the  night. 

"  Just  after  dusk  a  thing  occurred,  unfortunate  for  every 
bird :  a  wild,  wild  wind  came  romping  in  (it  was  a  dreadful 
prank),  and  with  a  swoop,  in  boisterous  play,  swept  all  the  en- 
velopes away. 

"The  poor  owls  cried,  '  Alackaday,  we  shan't  know  whom  to 
thank ! ' 

"  Next  morning  all  the  crows  came  out  and  pranced  about 
and  glanced  about,  expecting  greetings  from  their  friends,  and 
praise,  and  everything ;  but  when  they  got  no  single  word  of 
gratitude  from  any  bird,  they  held  a  meeting  in  the  trees  that 
made  the  whole  woods  ring. 

"  Oh,  well,  it  surely  seemed  a  shame,  but  no  one  really  was  to 
blame  ;  and  this  year  all  the  birds  around  (1  heard  it  from  a 
wren)  will  put  their  mail  most  carefully  safe  in  a  holeproof 
hollow  tree.  And  every  crow  is  going  to  be  a  happy  crow  again !  " 

Little  Ann  was  enchanted  with  the  February  house ; 
she  planned  in  her  own  mind  to  copy  it  in  chocolate 
and  taffy. 

"I'd  like  to  see  upstairs,  —  the  beds  and  bureaus 
and  things, — "  she  said  shyly,  "if  you  don't  mind  my 
looking —  " 

A  big  clock  began  to  boom  somewhere  near. 


ZODIAC  TOWN  23 

"  My  looking  — "  repeated  Ann.      "  Dear  me  suz, 
I'm  caught  again!     What  shall  I  say?" 
Then  all  at  once  she  said:  — 

"  My  looking-glass  is  like  a  pool, 
As  still  and  clear,  as  blank  and  cool. 

It  fronts  the  clean  white  nursery  wall, 
With  no  look  on  its  face  at  all. 

"  But  when  in  front  of  it  I  go, 
Why,  there  I  am,  from  top  to  toe. 

"  Oh,  just  suppose  I  hurried  there 
Some  day  to  brush  my  tousled  hair, 

"  And  stood  and  stared,  and  could  not  see 
One  single,  single  sign  of  me !  " 

When  it  was  nearly  time  to  leave  the  February 
house,  Ann  remarked  that  Amos  had  talked  in  prose 
straight  along  ever  since  they  came. 

Amos  smiled  proudly.  "  So  I  have,"  he  said.  He 
was  about  to  go  on  to  say  that  he  wondered  if  he 
would  be  caught  at  all,  when — whiz!  with  a 
scramble  and  a  scuffle  a    cuckoo  rushed  out    of    a 


24  ZODIAC  TOWN 

clock  just  above  his  head  and  bobbed  intently  up  and 
down  twelve  times.  Amos  had  got  only  as  far  as 
"wonder."  "Wonder  —  wonder — "he  stammered, 
as  he  heard  the  clock.     "Wonder — wonder  — 

"  Wonder  if  George  Washington 

Did  just  the  way  we  do  ? 
Wonder  if  he  slid  on  ice, 

And  now  and  then  broke  through  ; 
Slid  on  ice,  and  fought  with  snow, 

And  whittled  hickory  sticks, 
Called  his  brother  '  April  Fool !  ' 

And  played  him  April  tricks  ? 

"  Wonder  if  he  shed  his  shirt 

Down  beneath  the  beeches, 
Kicked  his  buckled  slippers  off, 

And  his  buckled  breeches, 
Jumped  into  the  swimming-pool, 

And  gave  a  splendid  shout, 
Glad  and  wiggly,  clean  and  cool, 

Splashing  like  a  trout  ? 

"  Wonder  did  he  sit  in  school, 
And  try  to  work  a  sum, 
With  bumblebees  all  mumbling, 
'  Summer  's  come,  summer 's  come ! ' 


ZODIAC  TOWN  25 

If  he  used  to  count  the  days, 

And  give  a  sort  of  sigh, 
Because  —  how  queer !  —  there  could  n't  be 

A  Fourth  in  his  July ! 

"  Wonder  if  he  ever  took 

His  history  and  read 
Tales  of  mighty  generals, 

Glorious  and  dead ; 
Turned  the  leaves  and  wished  that  he 

Could  be  a  hero,  too  ? 
Wonder  if  George  Washington 

Felt  the  way  we  do  ?  " 


MARCH 


Ill 

MARCH 


The  March  house,  strangely,  was  built  in  a  tree, 

With  a  fluttering  roof  of  leaves, 

And  strong,  straight  boughs  for  the  walls  of  the  house, 

And  an  apple  or  two  in  the  eaves. 

A  pair  of  fun-loving  twins  lived  there, 

Who  romped  on  the  roof  all  day, 

And  flew  great  kites  when  the  weather  was  fair, 

In  a  most  remarkable  way. 


The  March  house,  strangely,  was  built  in  a  tree 


ZODIAC  TOWN  31 

A  MOS  and  Ann  were  very  curious  to  know  why 
the  twins  lived  in  a  tree. 

"Well,  it  saves  time,"  the  black-haired  twin  ex- 
plained. "  There  are  one  or  two  days  in  the  year 
when  we  're  bound  to  be  up  here  anyhow." 

The  children  looked  puzzled. 

"  You  see,"  said  the  yellow-haired  twin,  "we  never 
have  the  slightest  idea  how  March  is  going  to  come 
in.     If  he  comes  in  like  a  lion  —  " 

"  Then,  of  course,  you  want  to  be  out  of  the  way," 
interrupted  Ann,  delighted  with  herself  for  knowing. 

"  Exactly,"  said  the  twin.  "  And  if  he  comes  in 
like  a  lamb,  then  we  know  how  he's  going  out,  of 
course.  So  we  simply  get  up  here  and  stay.  Listen 
to  our  song." 

Then  they  sang  in  duet: 

When  March  comes  in  roaring,  growling, 
Winds  swoop  over  the  hilltop  howling  ; 
Bushes  toss  in  the  lashing  gale, 
Right  and  left,  like  a  lion's  tail ; 
Branches  shake  in  the  road  and  lane. 
Tawny  and  wild,  like  a  lion's  mane. 
Fierce  and  furious,  he  — 


32  ZODIAC  TOWN 

But  he  's  going  out  like  a  lamb  ; 
You  watch  and  see ! 

When  March  comes  in  gentle,  easy, 
Waggy  and  warm  and  mild  and  breezy. 
Little  buds  bob  all  down  the  trail, 
Short  and  white  as  a  lambkin's  tail ; 
Hedges  and  ledges  with  blooms  are  full, 
Fluffy  and  fair  as  a  lambkin's  wool. 
Mighty  switchy  and  sweet,  and  all  that  — 
But  he  's  going  out  like  a  lion. 
Hold  on  to  your  hat! 

'  There 's  not  a  single  solitary  clock  at  this  place, 
anyway,"  Amos  remarked. 

"  Don't  be  too  sure,"  J.  M.  told  him,  "  It  may  be, 
you  see,  that  the  tree  Iceeps  a  clock  in  its  trunk.  First 
thing  you  know,  the  clock  may  speak  up  and  tell  on 
itself,  the  way  Tom  Tuttle  used  to  do." 

'  We  never  heard  of  Tom  Tuttle,"  said  little  Ann. 

"Never  heard  of  Tom  Tuttle?"  echoed  the  Jour- 
neying Man.  "Then  you  shall  hear  of  him,  as  soon 
as  — 

From  a  hole  in  the  tree  came  the  sound  of  a  clock 


ZODIAC  TOWN  33 

striking  loudly.     J.  M.  was  bound  to  go  on,  then,  just 
as  he  had  begun,  and  so  he  said:  — 

"  As  soon  as  ever  spring  drew  near,  and  brooks  and  winds  were 
loose, 
Tom  Tuttle  would  be  late  to  school  with  never  an  excuse. 

"  So  little  and  so  very  late  !  And  when  the  teacher  said 
That  he  must  take  his  punishment,  he  merely  hung  his  head. 

"  She  'd  ask  him  all  the  hardest  things  in  all  the  hardest  books  ; 
And  queerly  he  would  answer  her,  with  absent-minded  looks. 

'  'How  many  yards  make  twenty  rods?'    And  Tommy  said, 
'  Oh,  dear, 
Twelve  rods  I  've  cut  for  fishing  poles  in  our  own  yard  this 
year.' 

How  many  perches  make  a  mile  ?    Now  think  before  you 

speak.' 
'  Perches?  '  he  said,     '  There  's  millions  in  the  upper  sawmill 
creek.' 

'  What  grows  in  southern  Hindustan?  '     Said  Tom,  '  I  do  not 

know ; 
But  I  can  take  you  to  a  tree  where  blackheart  cherries  grow.' 

''Name  Christopher  Columbus's  boats.'    'I  can't  remember, 
quite ; 
But  mine,  that  lies  below  the  falls,  is  named  the  Water  Sprite.' 


34  ZODIAC  TOWN 

Now  what  is  "  whistle  "  —  noun  or  verb?  '      '  I  do  not  know 

indeed ; 
But  just  the  other  day  I  made  a  whistle  from  a  reed.' 

"  Then  all  the  little  listening  boys  would  wiggle  in  their  places, 
And  all  the  little  watching  girls  would  have  to  hide  their  faces  ; 

"  And, '  Thomas,  Thomas  ! '  teacher  'd  say,  and  shake  her  head 
in  doubt, 
And  make  him  write  a  hundred  words  before  the  day  was  out. 

'  T  was  always  so  when  grass  turned  green  and  blue  was  in  the 

sky  — 
Tom  Tuttle  coming  late  to  school  and  never  telling  why." 

They  had  a  good  laugh  at  Tom  Tuttle;  but  pres- 
ently the  thoughts  of  Amos  turned  to  March  hares. 

"  Do  they  ever  come  near  enough  for  you  to  touch 
them?"  he  asked  the  twins. 

"  No,  March  hares  are  very  timid,"  the  twins  said. 
'They  are  terribly  afraid  of  meeting  the  March  lion 
at  a  sudden  corner,"  the  yellow-haired  twin  added. 
"That  is  on  their  minds  a  great  deal." 

"  The  very  best  way  to  get  close  to  a  March  hare," 
said  the  black-haired  boy,  "is  to  take  a  reserved  seat 
at  the  annual  March-hare  ball." 


ZODIAC  TOWN  35 

Then  the  two  brothers  told  this  tale;  and  Amos 
and  Ann  saw  no  reason  for  not  believing  it:  — 

"  Maybe  nobody  s  told  you 
(For  very  few  people  know) 
What  happens  down  in  the  meadow  brown 
At  the  fall  of  the  first  March  snow. 

"  A  flute-note  sounds  on  the  midnight, 
Blown  by  a  fairy  boy, 
And  the  rabbits  rush  from  the  underbrush, 
All  nearly  mad  with  joy. 

"  Round  and  round  in  the  wild  wind, 
Faster  and  faster  they  prance  ; 
The  moon  comes  out  and  looks  about, 
And  laughs  to  see  them  dance. 

"  Cold  frost  covers  their  whiskers, 
But  never  their  hind  legs  tire, 
And  whenever  a  hare  feels  a  flake  on  his  ear, 
He  leaps  a  full  inch  higher ! 

"  Harum-scarum  and  happy, 
They  frolic  the  whole  night  through  ; 
Maybe  you'  11  hear  them  dance,  this  year 
(Though  very  few  mortals  do)." 


APRIL 


IV 

APRIL 


Taun 


The  April  house  was  near  a  pond; 
It  Was  made  of  reeds  and  of  rushes, 
All  helter-skelter  and  out  of  \elter, 
And  ringed  by  gooseberry  bushes. 
The  April  Fool  on  the  chimney  sat, 
In  pointed  shoes  and  a  pointed  hat, 
And  Welcomed  the  three  with  a  tee-hee-hee 
Fair  and  funny  and  fat. 


The  April  house   Was  near  a  pond 


ZODIAC  TOWN 


41 


I  'HE  owner  of  the  house  bowed  pleasantly  as  the 
visitors  approached. 
"I'm  delighted  that  you  happened  to  come  on  the 
first  of  April,"  he  said. 

"But  this  isn't  the  first  of  April,"  the  children  be- 
gan, astonished. 

J.  M.  pinched  their  elbows.  "Don't  contradict 
him,"  he  whispered.  "He  really  doesn't  know  any 
better,  you  see." 

"  Have  you  heard  the  latest  news?  [  asked  the  Fool] 
Cows,  this  year,  wear  button  shoes ; 
Dogs  will  dress  in  pantaloons  ; 
So  will  monkeys,  minks,  and  coons  ; 
Cats  go  gay  in  capes  and  shawls  ; 
Robins  carry  parasols ; 
Bossy  calves  and  nanny-goats 
Skip  in  scalloped  petticoats ; 
Molly  hares  and  bunny  rabbits 
Look  their  best  in  jumping-habits  ; 
Babies  are  to  dress  in  bearskins 
(If  they  can  be  made  to  wear  skins)  ; 
Grown-up  folks  in  straw  or  leather, 
Just  whichever  suits  the  weather. 


42  ZODIAC  TOWN 

These  styles  are  the  latest  thing, 
Brought  from  Paris  for  the  Spring, 
Neat  and  natty,  trim  and  cool  " — 

"  April  Fool ! "  cried  Amos.  He  felt  sure  that  was 
coming. 

But  the  Fool  merely  put  his  hand  to  his  ear.  "kDid 
you  call  me?"  he  asked  politely. 

The  children  shook  with  laughter  at  that,  and  the 
April  Fool  turned  to  the  Journeying  Man.  "Your 
turn,"  he  said. 

This  is  the  April  poem  that  the  Journeying  Man 
recited  for  the  rest:  — 

'  Young  Peter  Puck  and  his  brothers  wrote 
To  the  wise  wood-people  a  little  note. 
It  said,  '  If  you  '11  meet  us  by  Ripply  Pond, 
Wonders  we  '11  show  with  our  magic  wand.' 
'  What  shall  we  do?  '  said  the  forest-folk. 
'  Maybe  it 's  merely  a  practical  jcke.' 
But  they  went,  good  souls,  and  they  only  found 
A  bare,  bare  bush  and  the  green,  green  ground. 
'  But  watch,'  said  the  fairies,  '  and  you  shall  see 
Animals  grow  on  a  tiny  tree.' 


ZODIAC  TOWN  43 

'  The  rabbits  and  squirrels  felt  aggrieved ; 
They  thought  that  surely  they  'd  been  deceived. 
But  Peter  Puck,  at  the  head  of  the  band, 
Called,  '  Come,  come,  Kitty ! '  and  waved  his  hand. 
Then  the  buds  on  the  pussy-willow  bush 
All  became  kittens  as  soft  as  plush  — 
Smooth,  round  kittens,  quite  calm  and  fat ; 
On  every  twig  hung  a  little  cat. 
And  the  fairies  danced,  and  the  glad  wood-folk 
Cried,  '  Oh,  what  a  beautiful,  beautiful  joke ! '  " 

"  Now  look  here,"  said  the  April  Fool,  when  J.  M. 
was  done.  "  I  have  several  important  questions  to  ask 
this  crowd." 

He  then  proceeded  to  ask  the  questions,  not  one 
of  which  anyone  even  tried  to  answer. 

"  Now,  speech  is  very  curious  : 
You  never  know  what  minute 
A  word  will  show  a  brand-new  side, 
With  brand-new  meaning  in  it. 
This  world  could  hardly  turn  around. 
If  some  things  acted  like  they  sound. 

"  Suppose  the  April  flower-beds, 
Down  in  the  garden  spaces, 
Were  made  with  green  frog-blanket  spreads 


44  ZODIAC  TOWN 

And  caterpillar-cases ; 

Or  oak  trees  locked  their  trunks  to  hide 

The  countless  rings  they  keep  inside ! 

"  Suppose  from  every  pitcher-plant 
The  milk-weed  came  a-pouring ; 
That  tiger-lilies  could  be  heard 
With  dandelions  roaring, 
Till  all  the  cat-tails,  far  and  near, 
Began  to  bristle  up  in  fear ! 

"  What  if  the  old  cow  blew  her  horn 
Some  peaceful  evening  hour, 
And  suddenly  a  blast  replied 
From  every  trumpet-flower, 
While  people's  ears  beat  noisy  drums 
To  '  Hail,  the  Conquering  Hero  Comes ! ' 

"If  barn-yard  fowls  had  honey-combs, 
What  should  we  think,  I  wonder? 
If  lightning-bugs  should  swiftly  strike, 
Then  peal  with  awful  thunder  ? 
And  would  it  turn  our  pink  cheeks  pale 
To  see  a  comet  switch  its  tail?  " 

The  queer  little  fellow  did  not  seem  to  be  at  all 
disturbed  by  the  failure  of  the  company  to  answer  his 
questions.     He  turned  courteously  to  little  Ann. 


ZODIAC  TOWN  45 

"It's  your  turn  to  ask  a  riddle,  you  know,"  he 
reminded  her. 

To  little  Ann's  astonishment  a  riddle  popped  right 
into  her  head — a  rhymed  riddle,  at  that! 

"  Busy  Mistress  One-Eye 
With  her  long  white  train 
Dips  her  nose  and  down  she  goes  — 
Up  she  comes  again. 

"  Not  a  hand  and  not  a  foot ; 
Has  no  need  for  those ; 
Makes  her  trip  without  a  slip, 
Following  her  nose. 

"  Two  she  has  to  guide  her  : 
One,  a  sturdy  chap, 
Other,  tall  beside  her, 
In  a  silver  cap. 

"  As  she  moves  —  how  funny ! 
Yet  it 's  very  plain  — 
Brighter  grows  her  one  eye 
And  shorter  grows  her  train. 

"Now,  what's  the  answer?"  she  cried. 
"That's  easy,"   the  Fool  said  promptly.       'The 
answer  is,  of  course,  a  mushroom." 


46  ZODIAC  TOWN 

Amos  laughed  loudly  at  that;  but  kind  little  Ann 
was  distressed  to  think  what  a  pitifully  poor  guess  her 
host  had  made. 

"  Oh,  not  a  mushroom,  Mr.  Fool,"  she  said.  "  Don't 
you  see  it  has  something  to  do  with  sewing?" 

"Then  of  course  it's  a  mushroom,"  the  Fool  said 
calmly.  "  Don't  I  sow  mushrooms  every  year  all  over 
my  backyard?  Nobody  can  fool  me,"  he  finished 
with  a  chuckle,  "  about  mushrooms." 

And  after  that  naturally  there  was  nothing  more  to 
be  said. 

The  children  were  very  reluctant  to  leave  the  April 
house;  but  J.  M.  glanced  at  one  of  the  many  topsy- 
turvy clocks  that  hung  from  the  ceiling  (of  all  places !), 
and  reminded  them  that  it  was  high  time  to  be  mov- 
ing on. 


MAY 


V 

MAY 


Gemini 


A  green-thatched  cottage  was  May's  sweet  hjme 

With  velvet  moss  for  a  floor, 

And  a  clambering  vine  in  the  gay  sunshine, 

And  a  Maypole  set  by  the  door. 

And  May  herself,  with  a  dimple  and  curl, 

Dressed  in  a  flouncy  gown, 

Was  filling  baskets  —  the  prettiest  girl 

In  all  of  Zodiac  Town  I 


And  May  herself,  with  a  dimple  and  curl 


ZODIAC  TOWN  51 

T'HE  Journeying  Man  swept  off  his  green  hat  when 
he  caught  sight  of  May. 

"  I  knew  you  'd  be  here,"  he  said.  "  May  I  tell  my 
two  young  companions  how  the  joyful  animals  wel- 
comed you  when  you  came  ?  " 

May  smiled  at  Amos  and  Ann.  "  How  did  you 
know?"  she  asked  J.  M. 

"  I  saw  it  all,"  was  the  answer.  "  I  was  passing 
through  the  wood  one  day — " 

The  Journeying  Man  was  interrupted  here  by  a 
clock  striking  ten,  and  so  he  was  obliged  to  dash  into 
rhyme :  — 

"  One  day  the  cheery  wood-folk  heard 
A  robin  tell  another  bird 
A  piece  of  news,  a  joyful  word 
Repeated  often  over. 
'  Oho,'  said  they,  '  we  '11  plan  a  way 
To  welcome  back  our  pretty  May. 
We  '11  have  a  celebration  day 
To  show  her  how  we  love  her.' 

"  Professor  Bear  should  speak,  they  planned, 
With  Dr.  Fox  upon  the  stand  ; 
The  bird  quintette  from  Mapleville 


52  ZODIAC  TOWN 

Would  sing  its  loveliest ; 
And  Mr.  Owl,  the  baritone, 
Should  give  selections  of  his  own ; 
And  all  the  rabbit  girls  and  boys 
Should  wear  their  very  best. 

"  The  day  was  fair  with  balmy  air, 
And  banners  waving  everywhere ; 
The  woolliest  lamb,  all  curled  and  frilled, 
Was  sent  to  meet  the  guest ; 
And  even  little  rats  and  things, 
And  creatures  that  had  only  wings, 
Were  given  tiny  parts  to  play, 
And  waited  with  the  rest. 

"  Then,  tripping  light  and  skipping  light 
And  laughing  clear,  a  happy  sight, 
And  flinging  flowers  left  and  right, 
Came  merry,  merry  May. 
'  Oh,  welcome,  welcome  home ! '  they  cried  ; 
The  banners  dipped  on  every  side. 
She  curtsied  low,  '  Just  think,'  she  said, 
'  I  have  a  month  to  stay  ! ' 

May  looked  as  pleased  as  Amos  and  Ann  when 
the  rhyme  was  finished. 

"It's  every  word  true,"  she  said.       "And  here's 


ZODIAC  TOWN  53 

some  more  news  that  the  little  bird  told  —  if  you'd 
like  to  hear  it :  — 

"  Miss  Butterfly  sent  word  one  day  to  all  the  garden  people 
That  she  would  give  a  social  tea  beneath  the  hollyhock. 
A  robin  read  the  message  from  a  slender  pine-tree  steeple  — 
A  note  that  begged  them  sweetly  to  be  there  by  six  o'clock. 
They  came  a-wing,  they  came  a-foot,  they  came  from  flower 

and  thicket ; 
Miss  Hummingbird  was  present  in  a  coat  and  bonnet  gay, 
And  portly  Mr.  Bumblebee  and  cheerful  Mr.  Cricket, 
And  tiny  Mrs.  Ladybug  in  polka-dot  array. 
There  were  seats  for  four-and-twenty,  and  the  guest  of  honor 

there 
Was  a  gray  Granddaddy-long-legs  in  a  little  mushroom  chair. 

"  The  table  was  a  toadstool  with  a  spider- woven  cover ; 
The  fare  was  served  in  rose-leaf  plates  and  bluebell  cups 

a-ring  — 
Sweet  honey  from  the  latest  bloom,  and  last  night's  dew  left 

over, 
And  a  crumb  of  mortal  cake  for  which  an  ant  went  pilfering. 
A  mockingbird  within  the  hedge  sang  loudly  for  their  revel ; 
A  lily  swayed  above  them,  slow,  to  keep  the  moths  away  ; 
So  they  laughed  and  buzzed  and  chattered  till  the  shadows 

lengthened  level, 
And  Miss  Katydid  said  sadly  that  she  must  no  longer  stay. 


54  ZODIAC  TOWN 

Then  all  arose  and  shook  their  wings,  and  curtsied,  every  one, 
'  Good-night,  good-bye,  Miss  Butterfly,  we  never  had  such 
fun.'  " 

Little  Ann  looked  wistful  when  she  heard  all  the 
butterfly  tale. 

"  I  do  wish  I  might  go  to  a  party  like  that,"  she 
said. 

Amos  reflected.      "I  don't  know  but  what  I'd  be 
afraid  of  stepping  on  the  guests,"  he  remarked. 

'That's  true,"  Ann  agreed.  "Just  think  how  it 
would  seem  to  have  Miss  Butterfly  say  to  you,  '  Oh, 
you've  crushed  Mrs.  Ant,'  or  'Excuse  me,  but  you 
seem  to  be  sitting  on  Colonel  Grasshopper,  Sir." 

"  Tell  you  what  /  wish,"  Amos  went  on.     "  I  wish 
—  Oh,  there  goes  a  clock  —  I  wish  —  I  wish  — 

"  I  wish,  when  summer  's  drawing  near  about  the  end  of  May, 
With  bees  and  birds  and  other  things,  that  teacher  'd  teach 
this  way : 

Bound  Pine  Wood  north  and  south  and  east,  and  all  the  way 
around ; 
Tell  where  the  sassafras  bushes  grow,  and  where  wild  flags  are 
found ; 


ZODIAC  TOWN  55 

How  far  from  Huckleberry  Hill  to  Sandy-Bottom  Creek  ? 
How  many  cherries  at  a  time  can  a  boy  hold  in  his  cheek? 

Suppose  three  fish  were  in  a  pond,  three  fishers  close  at  hand, 
Each  fisher  with  a  hook  and  line  —  how  many  would  they 
land? 

'  What  is  the  shortest  cut  to  where  the  buttercups  are  yellow? 
How  many  fortnights  does  it  take  to  turn  May  apples  mellow? 

'  Two  pickers  in  a  berry  patch  —  when  they  had  picked  all  day, 
How  many  quarts,  inside  and  out,  would  those  two  take  away  ? 

' '  If  twenty  boys  turned  loose  and  ran  from  here  in  front  of 

school, 
How  many  seconds  would  they  take  to  reach  the  swimming- 
pool  ? ' 

"  And  then  I  wish  the  teacher  d  say,  '  Well,  if  you  can't  remem- 
ber. 
Go  find  the  answers,  right  away,  and  tell  me  in  September ! ' 


JUNE 


VI 

JUNE 


Canc< 


The  June  house  was  rit  a  house  at  all, 

But  a  level  and  leafy  place, 

Where  a  gypsy  scamp  had  pitched  his  camp 

A  gypsy  merry  cf  jace. 

He  welcomed  J.  M.  and  Amos  and  Ann, 

And  gave  them  seme  savory  stew, 

Piping  hot  from  a  big  black  P°t  — 

And  all  of  them  ate  it,  too  ! 


The  June  house  Wasn't  a  house  at  all 


ZODIAC  TOWN  61 

TT  was  so  cool  and  delightful  at  the  June  house  that  at 

first  the  travelers  didn't  have  much  to  say  —  they 
simply  sat  and  rested  and  looked  around.  But  presently 
Ann  began  to  feel  lively  again. 

"No  clocks  here,  anyway!"  she  exclaimed. 

The  gypsy  rolled  his  black  eyes.  He  had  a  clock, 
he  said,  but  it  ran  too  fast.  "  In  fact  it  ran  down," 
he  added. 

"Where  is  it?"  asked  little  Ann. 

"How  can  I  tell?"  returned  the  gypsy  chap.  "It 
ran  down,  you  know  —  down  into  the  woods.  And 
since  it  runs  so  fast,  I  did  n't  even  try  to  overtake  it." 

"  But  a  clock  has  no  feet,"   cried  Amos. 

"  It  has  hands,  though,"  retorted  the  gypsy.  "  Will 
you  deny  that?" 

Then  he  pointed  his  funny  brown  finger  at  Ann. 

'  You  can  make   a  rhyme  without  a  clock  striking, 

you  know,"  he  said.     "  Make  one,  this  minute,  Miss." 

Ann  was  alarmed.  "  What  shall  I  make  it  about  ?  " 
she  said  in  a  flustered  voice. 

"  Anything,"  the  gypsy  answered.  "  Hats  will  do." 


62  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"Hats?"  echoed  Ann.  "However  in  the  world 
can  I  make  a  poem  about  hats?" 

But  all  at  once  she  did  begin  to  make  one ;  it  ran 
along  as  smoothly  as  A  B  C. 

"  If  hats  were  made  of  flowers, 
I  think  my  party  bonnet 
Would  be  a  satin  tulip 
With  a  touch  of  green  upon  it. 

"I'd  wear  for  fun  and  frolic 
A  crinkled  daffodil, 
With  a  crown  quite  comfortable 
And  a  flaring  yellow  frill. 

"I'd  choose  for  church  a  beauty : 
The  sweetest  flower  that  grows 
Would  be  my  Sunday  bonnet  — 
A  soft,  pink,  ruffled  rose. 

"A  daisy  crisp  and  snowy 
Would  be  the  choice  for  school ; 
A  fresh  hat  every  morning, 
With  scallops  starched  and  cool. 

"For  picnics  and  for  rambles 
A  polished  buttercup. 
If  hats  were  made  of  flowers. 
How  people  would  dress  up!  " 


ZODIAC  TOWN  63 

Just  as  Ann  said  the  last  word  of  her  poem,  an  in- 
quisitive thousand-leg  worm  scuttled  along  the  ground 
about  a  yard  away,  and  she  almost  turned  a  summer- 
sault. 

"  He  would  n't  think  of  hurting  you,"  said  the  gypsy 
chap.  "  Speaking  of  hats,  little  Ann  —  did  you  ever 
hear  the  tale  of  the  centipede  lady  and  her  shoes?" 

Then  he  told  it. 

"Little  Miss  Centipede 

Went  out  to  shop, 
And  at  Shoofly  &  Company's 

Made  her  first  stop. 
Mr.  Shoofly  came  forward, 

All  beaming  and  gay : 
'And  what  can  I  do  for  you, 

Madam,  to-day?  ' 
He  bowed  and  he  beckoned  ; 

He  showed  her  a  seat ; 
But  the  poor  clerks  turned  pale 

When  she  put  out  her  feet. 
'How  many?'  they  faltered. 

'  As  many  as  these,' 
She  replied  very  sweetly, 

'And  hurry  up,  please.' 


64 


ZODIAC  TOWN 


"So  they  hurried  and  scurried, 

The  ten  Shoofly  clerks, 
All  hustling  together 

And  working  like  Turks. 
They  cleared  all  the  counters  ; 

They  emptied  the  shelves  ; 
They  made,  in  their  haste, 

Perfect  slaves  of  themselves. 
They  laced  and  they  buttoned. 

They  pushed  and  they  squeezed 
Miss  Centipede  watching, 

Quite  placid  and  pleased  ; 
They  used  a  short  ladder 

To  fit  her  top  feet, 
And  never  drew  breath 

Till  the  job  was  complete. 

"And  here's  what  they  sold  her  — 

Now  count  if  you  choose  : 
A  pair  of  cloth  gaiters, 

A  pair  of  tan  shoes, 
A  pair  of  black  pumps. 

And  a  pair  of  tan  ties, 
Two  pairs  of  galoshes 

And  boots,  ladies'  size  ; 
Five  pairs  of  silk  slippers 

For  thin  evening  wear  — 
Rose,  green,  red,  and  buff. 


ZODIAC  TOWN  65 

And  a  rich  purple  pair ; 
And  soft  bedroom  slippers 

Of  crimson  and  gray  ; 
And  a  pair  of  bootees, 

By  red  tassels  made  gay  ; 

"And  five  sets  of  sandals, 

Two  basket-ball  shoes, 
And  two  pairs  for  lounging  — 

Pale  pinks  and  pale  blues  ; 
And  six  pairs  for  walking, 

And  six  pairs  for  snow, 
And  six  pairs  to  hunt  in  — 

Though  what,  I  don't  know ; 
And  two  pairs  of  goatskin, 

And  two  pairs  of  duck, 
And  four  pairs  of  kid  — 

And  on  all  of  them  stuck 
The  daintiest  rubbers. 

Indeed,  she  looked  sweet, 
Miss  Centipede  did, 

As  she  tripped  down  the  street !  " 

By  this  time  they  had  finished  their  stew.  The 

Journeying  Man  rose  and  picked  up  his  staff.  '  That 
was  good  soup,"  he  said. 

The  gypsy  looked  gratified.      "Maybe,"  he  an- 


66  ZODIAC  TOWN 

swered,  "it  had  some  of  Contrary  Mary's  truck  in  it, 
and  maybe  it  didn't.     I'm  not  saying  as  to  that." 

Amos  and  Ann  were  filled  with  curiosity.  They 
wanted  to  know  what  "Contrary  Mary's  truck" 
might  be. 

"  You  tell  them,"  the  gypsy  said  to  the  Journeying 
Man.     And  J.  M.  did. 

"  You  ask  why  Mary  was  called  contrary? 
Well,  this  is  why,  my  dear : 
She  planted  the  most  outlandish  things 
In  her  garden  every  year ; 
She  was  always  sowing  the  queerest  seed, 
And  when  advised  to  stop, 
Her  answer  was  merely,  '  No,  indeed  — 
Just  wait  till  you  see  the  crop ! ' 

"  And  here  are  some  of  the  crops,  my  child 
(Although  not  nearly  all)  : 
Bananarcissus  and  cucumberries, 
And  violettuce  small ; 
Potatomatoes,  melonions  rare, 
And  rhubarberries  round, 
With  porcupineapples  prickly-rough 
On  a  little  bush  close  to  the  ground. 


ZODIAC  TOWN  67 

"  She  gathered  the  stuff  in  mid-July 
And  sent  it  away  to  sell  — 
And  now  you  '11  see  how  she  earned  her  name, 
And  how  she  earned  it  well. 
Were  the  crops  hauled  off  in  a  farmer's  cart? 
No,  not  by  any  means. 
But  in  little  June-buggies  and  automobeetles 
And  dragonflying-machines ! " 


JULY 


VII 

JULY 


The  July  house  was  an  old,  old  house, 

With  an  old,  old  mm  inside, 

Who  told  them  stories  of  other  days, 

Stories  oj  pluc\  and  pride. 

His  beard  was  long  and  his  hair  was  white, 

But  his  heen  eyes  were  not  dim, 

As  he  told  them  things  that  old,  old  men 

Had  long  ago  told  him. 


The  July  house  was  an  old,  old  house, 
Wilh  an  old,  old  man  inside 


ZODIAC  TOWN  73 

A  T  first  Amos  and  Ann  stood  a  little  in  awe  of  the 
old  man  in  the  July  house ;  but  he  looked  so  jolly 
and  friendly,  and  J.  M.  seemed  to  know  him  so  well, 
that  they  were  soon  set  at. ease. 

Little  Ann  made  bold  to  ask  him  a  question.  "  Do 
you  remember  the  American  Revolution?"  she  said. 

"  My  sakes  alive,  Ann ! "  cried  Amos,  a  good  deal 
embarrassed. 

But  the  old  man  did  not  seem  at  all  offended. 
"  Well,"  he  answered  slowly,  "I  can  tell  you  this 
much  about  it: 

"  The  little  boys  of  76  — 
They  did  their  chores  and  swam  and  fished, 
And  hunted  hares  and  whittled  sticks, 
While  all  the  time  they  wished  and  wished 
To  hear  a  sudden  summons  come, 
Each  waiting  day,  each  listening  night : 
'  We  need  the  boys  for  flag  and  drum, 

So  send  them  to  the  fight ! ' 

"  The  little  girls  of  76  — 
They  rocked  their  dollies  to  and  fro, 
And  taught  the  kittens  pretty  tricks, 
And  heard  their  mothers  talking  low ; 


74  ZODIAC  TOWN 

Then  climbed  into  the  hayloft  high, 
They  peered  through  every  glimmering  crack, 
And  longed  to  raise  a  joyful  cry : 
'  The  men  are  marching  back ! ' 

Amos  was  inclined  to  think  that  maybe  Ann's 
question  hadn't  been  such  a  foolish  one,  after  all. 

"  Perhaps,"  he  ventured,  "  you  knew  my  great-great- 
great-grandfather.  Can  you  tell  me  anything  about 
him,  sir?" 

"I  can  tell  you  this,"  the  old  man  said:  — 

'  Your  great-great-great-grandfather 

Was  a  little  chap  like  you, 
When  suddenly  one  summer 

Bugles  of  battle  blew, 
And  bells  rang  in  the  towers, 

And  flags  at  windows  flew. 

"  He  heard  the  tramp  of  horses 

And  the  fall  of  marching  feet ; 
He  saw  a  dust  on  the  hill  road, 

Regiments  in  the  street, 
While  men  were  thick  in  the  highway 

And  drums  in  the  market  beat. 


ZODIAC  TOWN  75 

"  He  watched  how  the  townsfolk  hurried 

Eagerly  to  and  fro  ; 
He  heard  the  voice  of  his  mother, 

Quiet  and  brave  and  low  ; 
And  he  saw  his  father  shoulder 

A  queer  old  gun  and  go. 

"  Your  great-great-great-grandfather, 
Sturdy  and  strong  like  you, 
Glad  of  the  blowing  bugles, 

Proud  of  the  flags  that  flew, 
Was  glad  and  proud  as  you,  lad  — 
Son  of  a  soldier,  too  ! 

"Why,  I  am  the  son  of  a  soldier!"  Amos  cried, 
delighted.  "  Though  I  don't  know  how  you  found 
it  out,  to  be  sure." 

"Now,  Amos,"  the  Journeying  Man  put  in,  "it's 
only  fair  that  you  should  give  us  your  poem  about  a 
band." 

Amos  turned  red.  "  My  poem  about  a  band !  "  he 
echoed.      "  I  don't  know  any  poem  about  a  band." 

"One  —  two — three,"  chimed  an  old  grandfather 
clock  on  the  stairs ;  and  all  at  once  the  little  boy,  much 
to  his  astonishment,  began  to  recite.  This  is  what 
he  recited :  — 


76  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"  A  band  is  such  a  brave,  bright  thing, 

With  tassels  tossed,  and  burnished  brass, 
And  music  quick  and  fluttering  — 
I  love  to  see  one  pass. 

"  Sometimes  it  sounds  for  turning  wheels,  — 
A  circus  coming  into  town,  — 
And  then  the  tune  gets  in  my  heels 
And  shakes  them  up  and  down. 

"  Sometimes  it  sounds  for  marching  men, 
With  cry  of  bugles  in  the  street, 
And  fair  flags  blowing  free  —  and  then 
I  cannot  hold  my  feet. 

"  I  follow,  follow  on  and  on ; 

I  let  it  lead  me  where  it  will ; 
And  when  the  last  clear  notes  are  gone, 
Somehow  I  hear  them  still." 

The  old  man  was  plainly  pleased  with  the  verses ; 
he  told  Amos  that  little  boys  had  always  felt  that  way 
about  bands,  and  probably  always  would. 

"  Wait  a  moment,"  he  said,  as  the  Journeying  Man 
made  the  move  to  go.  "  Did  the  June  fellow  tell  them 
the  story  of  Contrary  Mary?" 


ZODIAC  TOWN 


77 


"Yes,  he  did,"  the  children  answered  in  duet. 
"  And  oh,  was  n't  she  curious,  sure  enough  ?  " 

"  Well,  she  had  a  right  to  be  queer,"  the  old  man 
said  meditatively.  "She  inherited  queerness.  Fact 
of  the  matter  is,  her  family  name  was  Queeribus.  Let 
me  tell  you  about  her  great-great-great-grandfather! 

"  Old  Quin  Queeribus  — 
He  loved  his  garden  so, 
He  would  n't  have  a  rake  around, 
A  shovel  or  a  hoe. 


"  For  each  potato's  eyes  he  bought 
Fine  spectacles  of  gold, 
And  mufflers  for  the  corn,  to  keep 
Its  ears  from  getting  cold. 

"  On  every  head  of  lettuce  green  — 
What  do  you  think  of  that?  — 
And  every  head  of  cabbage,  too, 
He  tied  a  garden  hat. 

"  Old  Quin  Queeribus  — 
He  loved  his  garden  so, 
He  could  n't  eat  his  growing  things, 
He  only  let  them  grow !  " 


AUGUST 


VIII 
AUGUST 


Virgo 

Oh,  such  a  funny  August  house  — 

It  really  was  lihe  a  zoo, 

For  animals  roamed  in  all  the  rooms 

(Even  a  kangaroo) ; 

Such  sociable,  smiling,  friendly  beasts! 

As  soon  as  the  travelers  came, 

They  hurried  out  with  extended  paws, 

Announcing,  each,  his  name. 


Oh,  such  a  funny  A  ugust  house  — 
//  really  was  like  a  zoo 


ZODIAC  TOWN  83 

YY/HY,  how  in  the  world  did  they  learn  to  talk?" 
the  young  visitors  cried.  "  Did  they  go  to 
school,  J.  M.?" 

By  that  time  the  various  animals,  having  performed 
their  duties  as  hosts,  had  scampered  off  to  play  again, 
and  so  they  were  out  of  hearing. 

"Did  they  go  to  school?"  the  children  repeated. 

The  Journeying  Man  shook  his  head  and  made 
answer :  — 

"  The  birds  and  beasts  don't  go  to  school ; 
I  guess  t  would  make  them  mad  to ; 
They  would  n't  pass  an  hour  in  class. 
But  just  suppose  they  had  to ! 
How  funny  it  would  be  to  see 
The  desks  all  full  of  scholars, 
With  fins  and  claws  and  hoofs  and  paws, 
Skin  coats  and  brown  fur  collars ! 

"  How  strange  t  would  seem  to  happen  by 
And  hear  the  teacher  saying, 
'  The  kitty-cat  geography 
Must  be  kept  in  from  playing ; 
And  once  again  I  tell  you  plain 
That  I  shall  give  a  rapping 
To  the  very  next  first-reader  owl 
That  I  discover  napping.' 


84 


ZODIAC  TOWN 


The  crabs  would  write  in  copy-books, 

Such  crawly,  scrawly  letters ; 

The  bees  would  have  a  spelling-bee 

And  buzz  among  their  betters  ; 

And  monkeys  chatter  French  and  squeak 

In  Greek  the  live-long  day, 

To  scare  the  class  of  infant  lambs, 

Who  only  know  B-A. 


They  d  send  giraffes  up  to  the  board 
To  figure  slowly,  each, 
Problems  in  higher  branches 
That  they  could  never  reach. 
And  here  and  there  and  everywhere, 
No  matter  who  played  fool, 
They  'd  straightway  clap  a  paper  cap 
Upon  the  youngest  mule. 


"A  looker-on  might  feel,  perhaps, 
A  little  consternation, 
To  see  the  bear  philosophy 
Arise  for  recitation ; 
And  pupils  all,  and  teacher,  too, 
Would  pale  a  bit,  perchance, 
When  the  elephants  came  up  to  do 
Their  calisthenics  dance  !  " 


ZODIAC  TOWN  85 

"  But,"  Amos  persisted,  "  if  they  don't  go  to  school, 
then  how  on  earth  did  they  learn  how  to  talk?" 

"I  taught  them,  to  be  sure,"  said  a  hoarse  voice 
overhead. 

The  children  looked  up,  startled,  and  were  aston- 
ished to  see  that  the  voice  came,  apparently,  from  a 
long-tailed  green  parrot,  with  a  hooked  beak  and 
round,  solemn  eyes. 

'They  come  from  all  parts  of  the  world,"  the  par- 
rot resumed,  "  for  me  to  teach  them.  Of  course,  you 
needn't  call  it  a  school  if  you  don't  want  to." 

He  whistled  shrilly,  and  the  birds  and  beasts  came 
scampering  back  and  stood  round  in  a  respectful  circle. 
The  children  tried  to  talk  to  them,  but  they  looked 
bashful  and  would  not  say  a  word. 

"Perhaps  they'd  like  to  hear  some  rhymes,"  J.  M. 
suggested.     "  Go  ahead,  Amos  and  Ann." 

"  My  stars  /"  said  Ann,  and  Amos  added :  "  How 
in  the  world  can  I  start  off  quite  suddenly  — " 

Just  then  a  cuckoo  rushed  out  from  a  clock  some- 
where and  cuckooed  eleven  times,  and  the  twelfth  time 
Amos  said :  — 


86  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"  Quite  suddenly,  a  speckled  trout 
Down  in  the  swift,  clear  river 
Began  to  bustle  all  about, 
His  fishy  chin  a-quiver. 

"  He  raised  so  big  a  foam  and  fuss 
The  fishes  all  assembled. 
Why,  at  a  hippopotamus 
He  'd  scarcely  so  have  trembled ! 

'  What  ails  you?  '  asked  a  brother  trout. 

'  What 's  wrong  ?  '  inquired  a  minnow. 
'  Alas  !  We  're  all  invited  out,' 

He  shivered,  '  to  a  dinner !  ' 

*'  They  cried,  '  Why,  that 's  a  jolly  plan ! 
Who  asked  us  out  to  dine  ?  ' 
'  Oh  ! '  sobbed  the  trout,  '  a  fisherman, 
He  just  dropped  me  a  line ! ' 

When  the  poem  was  finished,  the  parrot  cried, 
"  Hear !  Hear ! "  and  clapped  his  wings  excitedly,  and 
a  little  raccoon  laughed  so  loud  that  he  had  to  be  sent 
away  in  disgrace. 

"Now,  Ann,"  said  J.  M.,  "give  us  a  poem  about 
your  cat." 


ZODIAC  TOWN  87 

"  Not  a  wild  cat,  I  hope,"  put  in  the  parrot  hastily. 
"That  kind  of  a  cat  has  such  bad  manners — far,  far 
worse  than  the  raccoon's  —  that  it  is  not  allowed 
round  here  at  all.  If  it 's  a  polite  kind  of  a  cat,  go  on, 
Miss;  not  otherwise." 

Little   Ann   was   very  red  in  the  face.     "  But  I 

can't  go  on,"  she  said.     She  intended  to  say  also, 

'  There  's  nothing  to  go  on  with,"  but  just  as  she  said 

"There's,"    a   little   nickel    clock    called   five    very 

clearly,  and  she  remarked,  instead:  — 

"  There  's  the  snow-white  cat,  the  pearl-gray  cat, 

The  brindle  and  the  brown, 
The  cat  with  stripes  around  himself, 

The  cat  striped  up  and  down, 
The  plaid  cat  and  the  buff  cat, 

The  tan,  the  tortoise-shell, 
The  bluish  sort,  the  reddish  sort  — 

More  tints  than  I  can  tell. 
But  the  finest  of  the  whole  fine  lot 

(There 's  no  disputing  that) 
Is  the  jet-black  chap  with  one  white  spot  — 

And  that 's  our  kind  of  cat. 


88  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"  The  tiny  cat  is  cunning. 

The  long,  lean  cat  is  fleet. 
The  nimble  one  is  made  for  fun, 

The  fluff-ball  one  is  sweet, 
The  Persian  pussy  s  splendid, 

The  Maltese  kitty,  too, 
But  the  special  kind  I  have  in  mind 

Is  best  of  all  the  crew. 
He 's  not  too  quick  and  frisky, 

Nor  is  he  slow  and  fat ; 
He  s  soft  and  warm  and  fits  my  arm. 

And  he  s  our  kind  of  cat !  " 

Ann's  recitation  was  well  received.  The  parrot 
said  he  was  very  familiar  with  the  kitty  kind  of  cat  — 
in  fact,  had  instructed  a  good  many  of  them. 

Amos  remarked  that,  with  so  many  beasts  coming 
to  learn,  the  place  would  soon  be  filled  to  overflowing. 

"Oh,  no,"  said  the  parrot.  "The  same  train  that 
brings  in  a  crowd  takes  a  crowd  away." 

'Train?"   Amos  repeated,  his  eyes  round  with 
curiosity. 

"  To  be  sure —  train,"  the  parrot  answered.  '  You 
don't  mean  to  tell  me  you  never  heard  of  the  Wild 
Beast  Limited?" 


ZODIAC  TOWN  89 

Then  he  preened  his  feathers  with  pride  and  chanted 
the  song  of  the  Wild  Beast  Limited. 

'  The  Wild  Beast  Limited  pulls  out 
With  bustle  and  with  fuss. 
It  s  hard  to  seat  the  porcupine 
And  hippopotamus. 

"  The  ants  demand  a  special  coach 
If  one  ant-eater  goes ; 
The  dormouse  wants  a  sleeping  car  ; 
The  chickens  shun  the  crows  ; 

"  The  camel  will  not  stir  a  peg 
Until  his  fill  he 's  drunk ; 
The  elephant  is  loud  and  cross 
Until  he  checks  his  trunk  ; 

The  tortoise  always  comes  too  late ; 

The  hare  a  day  ahead. 
I  'd  hate  to  be  the  engineer 

Of  the  Wild  Beast  Limited." 


r^f<% 


SEPTEMBER 


IX 

SEPTEMBER 


Very  familiar  September  seemed: 

A  flag-pole  stood  in  the  yard, 

And  the  little  path  that  led  from  the  road 

Was  trampled  bare  and  hard. 

A  bell  hung  high  in  the  little  toioer, 

And  when  the  door  swung  wide 

They  saw  a  young  Woman  with  pen  in  hand, 

Writing  away  inside. 


WsExauJUit 


Very  familiar  September  seemed 


ZODIAC  TOWN 


95 


THE  young  woman  rose  and  came  smilingly  to  the 
door.     A  clock  somewhere  inside  struck  nine,  with 
quick,  sharp  strokes. 

It  sounded  so  familiar,  somehow,  that  the  children 
cried  in  alarm,  "Oh,  it's  time  for  school!" 

"Not  quite,  for  you  schol- 
ars," the  teacher  said.  "  But 
folks  and  things  in  there" 
—  she  nodded  toward  the 
schoolroom  —  "  are  ready  and 
waiting." 

Amos  and  Ann  peered 
past  her  through  the  door,  but  they  could  see  nothing 
except  desks  and  seats. 

"I  suppose  Columbus  has  sailed,  by  this  time," 
remarked  the  Journeying  Man. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  the  young  woman  replied.  "  Further- 
more, the  Mississippi  is  flowing  into  the  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico as  hard  as  it  can,  and  rice  is  growing  in  Japan." 

The  children  understood,  now,  and  they  were  both 
laughing.  "  Are  the  prepositions  and  adverbs  in  their 
places?"  they  asked. 


2yw, 


96  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"  Multiplication  tables  set,  I  suppose  ?  "  said  J.  M. 

"Certainly,"  the  teacher  answered.  "  And  the 
tables  of  weights  and  measures,  too.  And  many 
things  are  here  in  addition." 

"  How,"  asked  little  Ann,  "do  the  children  in 
Zodiac  Town  know  when  it's  time  for  school  to 
open  ? 

"Just  the  way  the  children  in  any  other  town 
know,"  the  teacher  replied. 

"When  bees  and  birds  and  butterflies 

Have  grown  a  little  lazy  ; 
When  flowers  are  rare,  with  here  and  there 

A  late  rose  or  a  daisy ; 
When  streams  are  slow,  and  water  s  low 

Down  in  the  swimming-pool, 
And  grass  burns  brown  along  the  lane, 
And  goldenrod  is  bright  again  — 
There's  something  tells  you  just  as  plain, 

'  Time  for  school ! ' 

"  When  apples  in  the  orchard  lot 

And  pears  come  thumping,  falling ; 
When  sweet  and  clear,  far  off  and  near, 

The  bobwhite's  voice  is  calling ; 
When  crickets  trill  out  on  the  hill, 


ZODIAC  TOWN  97 

And  dusk  comss  quick  and  cool ; 
When  all  at  once,  in  midst  of  play, 
You  can't  remember  what's  the  way 
To  multiply  —  you  stop  and  say, 

'  Time  for  school ! '  ' 

A  clock  boomed  ten  with  a  familiar  sound,  and 
Ann  and  Amos  jumped. 

"  I  almost  thought  we  were  an  hour  late  for  school," 
Ann  said. 

"  September's  a  rather  funny  month,"  Amos  re- 
marked. "It  ends  so  many  things  and  it  begins  so 
many  things." 

"  I  like  to  come  home  at  the  end  of  summer,"  little 
Ann  said.  Then,  without  waiting  at  all  for  a  clock 
to  strike  she  swung  into  a  poem :  — 

"  When  we  travel  back  in  summer  to  the  old  house  by  the  sea, 
Where  long  ago  my  mother  lived,  a  little  girl  like  me, 
I  have  the  strangest  notion  that  she  still  is  waiting  there, 
A  small  child  in  a  pinafore  with  ribbon  on  her  hair. 
I  hear  her  in  the  garden  when  I  go  to  pick  a  rose ; 
She  follows  me  along  the  path  on  dancing  tipsy-toes ; 
I  hear  her  in  the  hayloft  when  the  hay  is  slippery-sweet  — 


98  ZODIAC  TOWN 

A  rustle  and  a  scurry  and  a  sound  of  scampering  feet ; 
Yet  though  I  sit  as  still  as  still,  she  never  comes  to  me, 
The  funny  little  laughing  girl  my  mother  used  to  be. 

"  Sometimes  I  nearly  catch  her  as  she  dodges  here  and  there, 
Her  white  dress  flutters  round  a  tree  and  flashes  up  a  stair ; 
Sometimes  I  almost  put  my  hand  upon  her  apron  strings  — 
Then,  just  before  my  fingers  close,  she  's  gone  again  like  wings. 
A  sudden  laugh,  a  scrap  of  song,  a  footfall  on  the  lawn, 
And  yet,  no  matter  how  I  run,  forever  up  and  gone ! 
A  fairy  or  a  firefly  could  hardly  flit  so  fast. 
When  we  come  home  in  summer,  I  have  given  up  at  last. 
I  lay  my  cheek  on  mother's.    If  there  's  only  one  for  me, 
I  'd  rather  have  her,  anyway,  than  the  girl  she  used  to  be !  " 

"That's  pretty  good,"  said  Amos  critically.  "I 
like-" 

Before  he  could  go  on,  a  little  crystal  clock  struck 
four.  So  Amos  had  to  fall  a-rhyming  again.  He 
stood  on  his  head  and  illustrated  the  last  two  lines 
of  the  rhyme. 

"  I  like  to  have  vacation, 

I  like  to  camp  and  roam  ; 
But  mostly,  in  a  curious  way, 
I  like  the  coming  home. 


ZODIAC  TOWN  99 

"Our  old  house  looks  so  solid, 
So  settled  and  arranged  ;   . 
The  front  gate  creaks  the  same  old  creak, 
The  chimneys  have  n't  changed. 

"  Those  weeks  of  sea  and  mountain 
Had  many  valued  points ; 
But  oh,  this  loosening  of  my  bones, 
This  limbering  of  my  joints ! 

"  Our  old  dog  comes  to  meet  me 
With  something  of  a  smile  — 
I  wheel  right  over  on  my  head 
And  wave  my  legs  a  while." 


OCTOBER 


X 
OCTOBER 


Scorpio 

It  was  a  queer  October  place  — 

No  house,  you  'd  say,  at  all! 

A  wide  brown  wood  with  leaves  for  a  floor, 

And  timbers  straight  and  tall. 

The  little  creatures  that  lived  in  there  — 

Fairies  and  furry  things  — 

Scurried  away  when  the  children  came, 

With  bashful  scamperings. 


r^Wl>L^J2-<JUL 


H-^  CZ=a  ~~  -^ 


//  uJas  a  queer  October  place 


ZODIAC  TOWN  105 

A  S  the    travelers   entered  the  woods,  they  heard 
funny  little  clicking  sounds  everywhere. 

"  It 's  the  sound  a  watch  makes  when  you  shut  it," 
Ann  said. 

"  Maybe  they  have  watches  here  instead  of  clocks." 
remarked  Amos. 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  a  voice  behind  them.  The 
voice  came  from  a  fat  Brownie,  who  was  sitting  on  a 
stone  with  his  legs  dangling.  "  They  have  clocks 
everywhere  in  Zodiac  Town,"  the  Brownie  resumed, 
"even  out  here  in  the  suburbs.  That  noise  is  the 
Chestnut  Chaps  unbuckling  their  belts  and  throwing 
off  their  overcoats." 

The    children    looked    as    if  they  did  not   know 
whether  he  was  serious  or  joking. 

"  It 's  the  honest  truth,"  said  the  Brownie.  "  Listen. 

"Every  little  wing  of  wind, 

Every  tilt  of  breeze, 
Stirs  a  sound  of  frolicking 

In  the  tallest  trees  : 
Scuffling,  shuffling,  shouldering, 

Nudges,  nips,  and  taps, 
Watch  and  wait  a  moment,  child  — 

It's  the  Chestnut  Chaps  ! 


106  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"Elbow  crowding  elbow  hard 

In  their  breeches  brown, 
If  one  comrade  takes  a  leap, 

Ten  come  bouncing  down ; 
When  the  crackle  of  a  leaf 

Shakes  one  lad  to  laughter, 
Till  he  tumbles  from  his  perch, 

Twenty  tumble  after. 

"Frisky  with  the  silver  frost, 

Wild  with  windy  weather, 
Half  the  autumn-tide  they  spend 

Giggling  all  together. 
Rough  of  coat  but  sweet  of  heart, 

Jolly,  glad  —  perhaps 
Never  finer  fellows  lived 

Than  the  Chestnut  Chaps !" 

As  he  finished,  there  came  a  series  of  clicks  over- 
head, and  seven  Chestnut  Chaps  landed  suddenly  at 
the  travelers'  very  feet.  As  they  fell,  two  gray  squirrels 
darted  out  to  the  end  of  a  limb,  their  tails  jerking  with 
excitement ;  but  the  Brownie  waved  them  back. 

"  In  this  wood,"  he  said,  "  squirrels  are  not  allowed 
to  feed  on  chestnuts."     He  turned  to  the  squirrels, 


ZODIAC  TOWN  107 

who  were  scowling  at  him  from  a  high  branch.  "And 
you  know  that  very  well,"  he  added. 

The  squirrels  merely  looked  sulky,  and  so  the 
Brownie  addressed  himself  to  Amos.  "  What,"  he 
asked,  "  is  your  candid  opinion  about  the  wood-folk, 
anyway?" 

"The  wood-folk?"  Amos  said.  He  had  not 
known  that  he  had  any  opinion  about  the  wood-folk, 
but  just  then  a  clock  struck  four,  and  suddenly  he 
formed  an  opinion  on  the  spot. 

"The  wood-folk  scamper  to  and  fro  ; 

They  have  no  tasks  to  do. 
It's  here  and  there  and  high  and  low 

For  them,  the  whole  day  through  ; 
Up  to  the  tops  of  highest  trees, 
In  holes  and  caves,  and  where  they  please. 

"They  have  no  clothes  to  guard  with  care, 

No  shoes  upon  their  feet,  — 
For  fur  and  feathers  never  tear, 

And  claws  are  always  neat,  — 
No  hooks  to  hook,  no  strings  to  tie.     . 
Small  wonder  that  they  skip  and  fly ! 


108  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"The  wood-folk  frolic  everywhere, 

With  all  the  sky  o'erhead, 
A  swaying  bough  for  rocking-chair, 

A  hollow  trunk  for  bed. 
And  yet,  for  all  this  woodland  joy, 
Who  would  not  rather  be  a  boy  ?  " 

'  Well,  everyone  to  his  taste,"  remarked  an  odd- 
looking  elf,  who  appeared  suddenly  from  nowhere 
in  particular.  "  For  my  part,  I  prefer  to  be  just  ex- 
actly what  1  am.  Once  a  witch  changed  me  into  a 
boy  for  ten  minutes,  and  I  give  you  my  word  I  never 
was  so  uncomfortable  in  my  life." 

"Are  witches  here?"  cried  Ann,  as  she  fixed  her 
big  eyes  on  the  elf. 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  elf  and  the  Brownie  briskly, 
in  one  breath.  "  Don't  you  have  witches  up  your 
wayP 

"Only  at  Hallowe'en,"  Amos  told  them. 

The  elf  looked  thoughtful.  "  Oh,  at  Hallowe'en," 
he  said.  Then  his  eyes  began  to  twinkle,  and  he 
spoke  as  follows :  — 


ZODIAC  TOWN  109 

"  Suppose  this  year  at  Hallowe'en,  without  a  bit  of  warning, 
The  roly-poly  pumpkin  heads  we  cut  and  carved  that  morn- 
ing 
Should  grow  slim  bodies,  legs,  and  feet, 

And  quick,  from  post  and  steeple, 
Come  skipping  'mongst  us,  pert  and  fleet, 

Real,  frisky  pumpkin  people ! 
Suppose  that  you  and  I  had  just  completed  one  that  minute, 
As  day  grew  late,  down  by  the  gate,  and  set  a  candle  in  it, 
So  that  its  eyes  were  deep  and  wide, 

Its  mouth  a  grinning  yellow, 
Then  turn  to  find  him  at  our  side, 

A  living  pumpkin  fellow  ? 
Suppose  we  ran  with  twinkling  heels  and  met  a  throng  ad- 
vancing, 
Their  teeth  a-row,  their  eyes  aglow,  all  whirling,  pranking, 

prancing ; 
Suppose  they  twirled  us  merrily, 

The  whole  dark  landscape  lighting  — 
This  Hallowe'en,  I  think,  would  be 

A  little  too  exciting!" 


NOVEMBER 


XI 
NOVEMBER 


Sagittarius 

The  next  house  stood  just  bac\jrom  the  street, 
In  a  gray  little  narrow  lane. 
A  table  loaded  with  things  to  eat 
They  saw  through  the  window-pane. 
A  cozy  old  lady  came  out  to  the  door 
And  said,  "  There  is  turkey  in  here, 
Potatoes  and  rice,  and  ca\e  with  spice, 
And  no  one  to  dine,  oh,  dear! 


The  next  house  stood  just  back,  from  the  street 


ZODIAC  TOWN  115 

A  MOS  and  Ann  looked  at  the  Journeying  Man. 
"  It  must  be  very  hard  on  her,  J.  M.,"  they  said. 

"What 'shard  on  her?"  returned  J.  M.  "Having 
turkey  and  potatoes  and  all  that?" 

Amos  and  Ann  turned  red.  "  Having  no  one  to 
eat  them,"  they  said  in  a  low  voice. 

It  had  been  some  hours  since  they  left  the  gypsy 
camp,  and  they  were'  beginning  to  be  very  hungry 
indeed. 

The  little  old  lady  stood  at  the  door  and  waited. 

"We  might  help  her  out  if  there's  time,"  J.  M. 
said  suddenly. 

"Oho!"  cried  Amos.  "There's  plenty  of  that, 
you  know,  in  Zodiac  Town!" 

Two  minutes    later  they  were  seated  round  the 

table. 

"It's  like  Thanksgiving,"  Ann  said  in  delight. 

"Just  think  —  "  J.  M.  replied  — 

"Just  think,  the  little  Pilgrim  boys 
That  came  ashore,  you  know, 
From  off  the  good  Mayflower  ship 
That  wild  day  long  ago, 


116  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"They  had  no  roasted  turkey-breast 
For  dinner ;  not  a  scrap 
Of  gravy,  stuffing,  and  the  rest 
Saw  any  hungry  chap. 

"No  apple  sauce,  no  pumpkin  pies, 
No  nuts  and  raisins  plump, 
No  oranges  and  gingersnaps, 
No  taffy  in  a  lump. 

"I'm  glad  that  things  are  different  now  — 
'T  would  give  me  quite  a  shock 
To  see  our  dinner-table  look 
As  bare  as  Plymouth  Rock. 

"And  yet,  those  little  Mayflower  lads 
Were  thankful  to  be  living  — 
A  splendid  reason,  after  all, 
For  anyone's  thanksgiving ! " 

"  I  think  I'm  thankfulest  of  all,"  Ann  said  —  and  a 
little  clock  tinkled  and  sent  her  into  rhyming. 

"  I  think  I  m  thankfulest  of  all 
For  that  old  house  of  ours ; 
The  maple  by  the  garden  wall, 
The  borders  full  of  flowers  ; 


ZODIAC  TOWN  117 

"The  front  doorsill  that's  hollowed  out 
By  many  passing  feet ; 
The  different  pictures  hung  about, 
With  faces  kind  and  sweet. 

"The  firewood's  flame  is  red  and  gold 
And  makes  a  spicy  smell ; 
There 's  nothing  half  so  clear  and  cold 
As  water  from  our  well ; 

"And  through  the  window,  sleepy  nights, 
Just  at  the  stairway's  head, 
A  white  star  like  a  candle  lights 
Me  safely  up  to  bed. 

"So  brightly  all  my  blessings  shine 
That  many  thanks  I  give  — 
But  mostly  for  that  home  of  mine 
Where  I  was  put  to  live." 

The  old  lady  was  delighted  with  all  this  rhyming, 
and  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  she  made  up  a  very 
good  rhyme  of  her  own.  Amos  and  Ann  thought  it 
was  the  best  of  all  that  they  had  heard  that  day  — 
and  goodness  knows  they  had  heard  a  great  many! 


118  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"Suppose  you  lived  in  a  gingerbread  house, 

With  a  roof  of  jujube  paste, 
And  sugar  shutters,  and  peppermint  pipes, 

And  doors  that  you  could  taste  ; 
In  a  land  where  weather  could  do  no  harm, 

Absurd  as  that  may  seem, 
With  chocolate  ground  and  lemonade  rain 

And  plenty  of  snow  ice-cream? 

"Plenty  of  snow  ice-cream  for  you, 

And  a  soda-water  pump, 
And  a  little  garden  where  gumdrops  grew, 

And  taffy  all  in  a  lump. 
Taffy  all  in  a  lump,  hurrah ! 

And  tarts  and  cookies  and  all. 
If  ever  you  move  to  a  house  like  that, 

I'll  make  an  early  call!" 


DECEMBER 


XIJ 
DECEMBER 


Capricornus 


The  house  of  December  was  all  aglow, 

Each  room  Was  jolly  and  red; 

There  Were  bulgy  stockings  ranged  in  a  row, 

And  holly  hung  overhead. 

A  silver  star  hung  fair  and  far, 

A  silver  bell  rang  clear; . 

And  some  Christmas  children  came  out  and  cried, 

"Come  in  to  the  Christmas  Cheer!" 


The  house  of  December  Was  all  aglow 


ZODIAC  TOWN  123 

HHE  children  had  a  glorious  time  at  the  December 
house.  There  was  a  beautiful  tree  there,  all  lighted 
and  ready. 

"But  we  can't  take  the  things  off,  you  know," 
one  Christmas  child  told  Amos  and  Ann,  "  until 
somebody  says  a  rhyme." 

A  clock  chimed  two  a  minute  later,  and  caught 
Amos  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence,  at  the  words,  "it 
was."     So  he  went  on  and  said:  — 

"  It  was  crammed  and  laden  and  bent  with  fruit, 

The  tree  that  bore  in  a  night ; 
Rich  with  treasure  from  tip  to  root, 

A  very  goodly  sight. 
Dim  in  the  parlor's  gloom  it  showed, 
When  a  tiny  gleam  at  the  window  glowed  ; 
When  over  the  hills  a  rooster  crowed, 

It  thrilled  through  all  its  height. 

"A  rubber  doll  on  a  distant  limb 

Stretched  with  a  sleepy  word  ; 
A  little  lead  soldier  answered  him, 

And  a  big  stuffed  elephant  stirred. 
A  quiver  flickered  the  pop-corn  strings, 
Fluttered  the  tinsel  angel's  wings, 
Tinkled  the  silver  balls  and  things, 

Till  all  of  the  company  heard. 


124  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"A  jack-in-the-box  with  a  frisky  eye 

Suddenly  jumped  his  lid, 
And  a  white-rag  rabbit  that  hung  close  by 

Squeaked  with  fright  when  he  did  ; 
A  dog  from  London  began  to  bark ; 
The  animals  in  the  Noah's  ark 
Struggled  and  scuffled  in  the  dark, 

Back  in  the  branches  hid. 


'  The  large  French  doll  (she  was  very  vain) 

Settled  her  silk  and  lace  ; 
The  rocking  horse  of  the  tawny  mane 

Struck  up  a  gentle  pace  ; 
And  hither  and  thither  the  boughs  among, 
Sampling  the  goodies,  tooth  and  tongue, 
A  mechanical  monkey  slid  and  swung 

With  agile  monkey  grace. 


"All  was  still  when  the  children  came 

With  candle-stars  adorning ; 
Somebody  heard  and  hissed  a  name, 

Whispered  a  sudden  warning. 
Now  don't  get  curious,  people,  please. 
It's  generally  known  that  things  like  these 
Only  happen  to  Christmas  trees 

Quite  early  Christmas  morning." 


ZODIAC  TOWN  125 

"I  like  that  poem,  Amos,"  said  Ann,  "though  I 
must  say  I  don't  know  how  you  found  out  all  that." 
Then  she  asked  the  little  Christmas  girl  to  repeat  a 
poem. 

"I  know  one  about  a  different  kind  of  Christmas 
tree,"  the  little  girl  said. 

"Not  a  prettier  tree  than  this  one  here  in  the  room 
—  surely!"  cried  Amos  and  Ann. 

The  Christmas  child  reflected.  "  Yes,"  she  said, 
"prettier,  in  a  way,  than  this  —  because  it  was  such 
a  surprise.     Listen." 

Then  she  told  them  about  it. 

"A  little  bird  told  a  squirrel, 
And  a  squirrel  told  a  jay, 
That  a  poor  child  lived  in  a  city 
Not  very  far  away, 
Who  never  at  any  Christmas 
Had  a  Christmas  tree  in  her  home ; 
And  the  jay  bird  told  a  rabbit  next, 
And  the  rabbit  told  a  gnome. 
The  gnome  blew  thrice  on  his  fingers 
For  half  a  dozen  elves, 
And  he  told  them  the  sorrowful  rumor, 
And  he  said,  'Now  stir  yourselves  !' 


126  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"Then  Tip  and  Twinkle  and  Tony 
And  Pete  and  Chipper  and  Chase 
Hurried  and  scurried  the  whole  day  through, 
Till  they'd  put  the  tree  in  place. 
They  trimmed  it  with  moss  and  holly. 
And  odd  little  colored  stones, 
And  seeds  and  chestnuts  and  apples, 
And  feathers  and  leaves  and  cones. 
And  icicles  hung  upon  it. 
And  crystals  of  snow  gleamed  white  ; 
And  soon  as  the  sun  rose  on  it, 
It  sparkled  and  flamed  with  light. 
Then  two  birds  perched  in  the  tree  top, 
And  half  a  dozen  elves 
Climbed  gayly  into  the  branches 
And  safely  hid  themselves. 

"And  the  little  girl  came  to  the  window, 
And  wide  her  shutters  flew. 
She  cried,  '  I  dreamed  of  a  Christmas  tree, 
And  here  is  my  dream  come  true ! '  ' 


Then  the  presents  were  taken  from  the  Christmas 
tree  and  given  round  among  the  little  girls  and  boys 
who  were  present. 


ZODIAC  TOWN  127 

Just  as  the  last  gift  was  handed 
down,  the  last  candles  went  suddenly 
out,  and,  at  the  same  time,  clocks  began 
to  strike  all  over  the  house. 

The  Journeying  Man  picked  up 
his  stick.  "  Time  to  go  to  bed ! " 
he  cried. 

Amos  and  Ann  were  astonished.  "To  bed?" 
they  repeated,  unbelieving.  "To  bed,  in  Zodiac 
Town?" 

"  No,  in  your  own  home,"  replied  J.  M.      "  Come 

along,  Amos  and  Ann!" 

And  when  they  still  held 
back,  he  gave  them  a  funny 
little  scolding  all  in  rhyme, 
which  pleased  them  so  that 
they  followed  him  out  into 
the  dusk  with  never  a 
word ! 


128  ZODIAC  TOWN 

"It's  strange  how  things  can  differ  so ! 
Now,  take  two  kinds  of  fruit  — 
Banana  chap  and  Orange  — 
And  watch  each  doff  his  suit. 

"  Banana  s  swift  and  nimble, 
His  way  is  safe  and  slick  ; 
He  gets  out  of  his  trouser-leg 
With  a  wiggle  and  a  kick. 

"But  Orange  makes  a  big  to-do  ; 
Indeed,  it  is  distressing 
To  happen  by  quite  suddenly 
And  see  that  lad  undressing. 

"He  clings  to  every  single  rag 
With  obstinacy  and  vim  ; 
It  takes  ten  fingers  and  a  will 
To  part  his  clothes  from  him. 

"And  when  he  feels  the  poor  clothes  go. 
All  raggedy  and  mussy, 
He  sheds  an  acid  tear  or  two, 
And  keeps  on  being  fussy. 

"  It's  strange  how  things  can  differ  so  ! 
To  be  quite  frank  and  truthful, 
It  isn't  only  things,  you  know, 
But  people,  chiefly  youthful, 


ZODIAC  TOWN  129 

"Who  show  these  different  traits  and  tricks 
When  bedtime  hour  comes  duly  — 
Banana-kind  and  Orange-kind ; 
Now  which  kind  are  you,  truly?" 

"  Banana-kind !  "  cried  Amos  and  Ann,  as  well  as 
they  could  for  laughter. 

"  Don't  be  too  quick.  Don't  be  Grape-kind,"  said 
the  Journeying  Man. 

"Grape-kind?"  they  echoed. 

"And  jump  out  of  your  skins,"  said  J.  M. 

At  that  Amos  and  Ann  laughed  so  hard  that  they 
had  to  sit  down  on  the  ground.  But  all  at  once  a 
clock  began  to  strike  fast  and  furiously.  It  had  struck 
a  hundred  before  the  children  could  scramble  to  their 
feet. 

"  Oh,  how  late  it  is !  "  they  cried.  "  Take  us  home, 
J.  M.!" 

It  surely  was  late  when  they  started  home, 

But  they  took  the  trail  with  a  laugh, 

Little  Ann  clinging  to  Amos's  coat, 

And  Amos  to  J.  M.'s  staff. 

And  through  the  meadows  and  over  the  hills, 

Happily  up  and  down, 


130  ZODIAC  TOWN 

With  hurry  and  scurry  and  skip  and  hop, 

And  talking  in  verse  the  livelong  time, 

(For  they  'd  got  in  the  habit  and  could  n't  stop, 

They  traveled  the  scallopy  road  of  Rhyme, 

The  wandering  road  of  much  renown 

That  leads  from  Zodiac  Town. 

They  traveled  on  till  they  came  in  sight 
Of  a  couple  of  windows  shining  bright. 
Then  J.  M.  stopped  and  held  up  his  stick. 
"  Yonder  s  your  house,''  he  said.    "  Be  quick  ! 
I  '11  count  very  slowly,  but  you  must  be 
As  far  as  the  gate  by  twenty-three  ; 
And  when  I  have  counted  twenty-four 
You  must  be  inside  the  door." 

"  Come  with  us,  do  !  "  the  children  cried, 
But  he  only  shook  his  head. 
"  I  can't,  for  I  am  a  Journeying  Man, 
And  I  must  be  off,"  he  said. 

Then  he  started  to  count  —  and  away  at  last 

They  went  on  twinkling  feet ; 

Never  did  squirrels  move  more  fast, 

Or  rabbits  run  more  fleet. 

And  just  as  they  touched  the  latch  of  the  gate. 

They  heard,  far  down  in  the  hush, 

"  Twenty-three  !  "  as  plain  as  could  be  ; 

And  they  scurried  through  with  a  rush. 


ZODIAC  TOWN  131 

There  on  the  porch,  its  covers  bent, 

The  book  with  the  poem  lay. 

They  picked  it  up  as  they  fled  through  the  door 

(Just  as  the  voice  called,  "  Twenty-four !  "). 

"  Why,  this  was  n't  hard !  "  said  they. 

They  stared  at  the  poem  and  hung  their  heads  — 

"  Why  did  we  run  away?  " 

They  said  to  each  other,  "  It  seems  sometimes 

There  really  is  lots  of  good  in  rhymes." 

"  Perhaps  it  would  be  a  very  good  plan 
To  study  them  more,"  said  wise  little  Ann. 

And  Amos  answered  :  "  I  m  going  to  know 
Whole  pages  up  and  down, 
Then  find  J.  M.,  in  a  hurry,  and  go 
Straight  back  to  Zodiac  Town." 

They  fled  upstairs  like  swift  little  hares, 

And  burrowed  into  their  beds, 

With  numberless  tunes  and  rhythms  and  runes 

A-ringing  in  their  heads. 

And  they  dreamed  all  night  of  a  scallopy  road 

And  of  clocks  with  a  curious  chime, 

And  talked  in  their  sleep  —  and  every  word 

Was  a  rhyme,  a  rhyme,  a  rhyme ! 


McGRATH-SHERRILL   PRESS 
BOSTON,  MASS. 


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